Stewart's 8th HR -- and surprise steal of 3rd! -- spark Reds to 4th straight win

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Reds have been winning most of their games so far this season with solid pitching and defense, and only a little bit of offense. But Monday night's 6-1 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field provided a glimpse of how tough a foe Cincinnati could become when its lineup does its share of the lifting.

That helped give the first-place Reds (15-8) four straight victories and six in their last seven games. They are also an MLB-best 9-2 on the road.

“It’s fun. We keep finding a way," starting pitcher Rhett Lowder said. "Every game looks a little different, but we always find a way and it’s fun. Just try to keep it going.”

Entering the night, the Reds were last in MLB in batting average and slugging percentage, while 26th with a 3.6 runs per game average. But every position-player starter -- except for Tyler Stephenson -- collected at least one hit and there were nine overall.

“We need to do that. But I still love the way we’re competing," manager Terry Francona said. "I don’t see any difference in their demeanor regardless of what their batting average is and I love that. I respect the hell out of that.”

Sal Stewart once again led Reds hitters with another dynamic performance.

Two batters after Matt McLain reached second base on a hustle double to center field in the top of the first inning, Stewart drove a 3-2 sinker over the plate from Jesse Scholtens for a two-run home run to center field and 2-0 Reds lead.

“I was just looking for a pitch that I could hit, trying to put together a good at-bat. Worked to my favor," said Stewart, whose eighth homer tied him with Jordan Walker and Max Muncy for the National League lead. "I’m happy with the day. I’m happy that our team won and happy that we’re keeping this thing rolling.”

The 22-year-old Stewart also single-handedly created an add-on run in the seventh inning. After hitting a two-out double, he took a risk by stealing third base with Eugenio Suárez batting.

"I saw the opportunity there," Stewart said. "I’m always a proponent of trying to take the extra base. It gives our team a better chance to win.”

It paid off when a wild pitch by reliever Trevor Martin enabled Stewart to score.

“We were in the dugout laughing. I’m like, I didn’t send him," Francona said of the steal. "All of a sudden, there’s a wild pitch so it turns out to be very good. Just can’t ever get thrown out there and I’ll remind him of that about seven times tomorrow.”

It was a 2-1 game in the third inning, when TJ Friedl hit a one-out double to right field and scored on Elly De La Cruz's blooped RBI single to center field. In the sixth inning with two outs and two on, and the struggling Ke'Bryan Hayes on deck, Scholtens pitched to Rece Hinds and surrendered a two-run double that landed just inside of the left-field foul line to put the game away.

“We can do more than that. We’re not always going to hit but when we’re [right], we can do a lot of things," De La Cruz said.

Pitching-wise, Lowder survived a rocky 34-pitch bottom of the first inning to complete six innings with one run on five hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts. Lowder, who gave up a first-inning run and had the bases loaded with no outs, escaped with the aid of two strikeouts.

At one point, Francona and pitching coach Derek Johnson were fretting over how they'd get enough pitching to finish the game. But nine-pitch innings from Lowder in both the third and sixth innings enabled him to give Cincinnati a quality start.

“I kind of had no choice. Back was against the wall. I had to lock in," Lowder said.

Then there was the defense. De La Cruz made a dazzling diving stop to his right in the third inning on a Junior Caminero grounder and then an even more impressive throw to first base for a hit-robbing out. In the ninth inning as reliever Connor Phillips labored, Stewart made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right field to prevent a run from scoring.

“That play he made in the ninth inning defensively, that was a great play," Francona said. "To go along with Elly’s play earlier, those are fun to watch.”

That could be said about the Reds as a whole these days, especially if the offense starts sustaining something.

“Winning always feels good," De La Cruz said. "We’ve just got to keep doing the little things, keep grinding.”